Reflections
by californiia xx
Summary: Peter reflects on his siblings before, during, and after Narnia


**Disclaimer:** Don't own them. Don't claim to.

**Authors Note:** Go easy on me. First story ever.

"_To the clear Northern Sky I give you King Peter, the Magnificent."_

The day he received his university letter was supposed to be the happiest of his life. He should be jumping, screaming, hugging everyone in sight. Everyone else was excited, why not him? Certainly Mother was, she was out at that very moment buying him a huge cake, chocolate of course, because it was his favorite. Father was, he invited Peter into his study and offered him a sip of the finest wine (to which Peter politely declined as he never really got used to the smart stinging of English alcohol, Narnian wine was different). Susan was, she starting crying almost at once and jumped into his arms saying things like "congratulations" or "you deserve it Peter!" Lucy was, she invited him to a special tea party in his own honor. Ed was, he slapped Peter on the back mumbling a "congratulations" and while it wasn't much Peter understood that Ed meant well by it.

He looked around his tiny room and realized for the first time how little the room reflected about its occupant. The plain white walls; bare of everything except a picture Lucy drew him. It was the first thing she ever gave him and he couldn't (and wouldn't) think of ever throwing it away. On a plain sheet of paper she drew him – almost as tall as the paper - and her standing next to him, the two of them holding hands and walking in a park of some sort. Now, though, he liked to think it wasn't a park, but rather a forest in which they traveled to or from or across during their time in Narnia. And he rather suddenly realized that nothing could compare to Narnia anymore. He used to think his university years would be the best of his life but now they simply paled in comparison. Thinking about Narnia almost always gave Peter mixed emotions. Thinking about Narnia, or perhaps it was the stress of finally having to leave his home lulled him into a deep, and (thankfully, he thought) dreamless sleep.

He awoke to Lucy jumping on his bed screaming about dinner. Dinner was a happy affair for his parents, though all four Pevensie children were rather subdued. After dinner the family sat around in the parlor and drank some tea, or in Lucy's case (as she simply hated tea) apple juice. It was then that Peter began to notice subtle differences in his siblings. How Susan sat with her back ramrod straight now, or how Edmund always seemed to side or believe Lucy, or how Lucy herself could perfectly curtsy at any gentleman she met. And all three of them seemed to have some unspoken agreement that Peter was still the "High King" of sorts and was to be obeyed. And he was. He excused himself from his own celebration as politely was possible and laid in his bed. Through his open window he could see the moonlight hitting the picture Lucy drew him.

_Queen Lucy the Valiant._ My, how Lucy had grown up. Peter could still remember his mother coming into his room and telling him he was going to have another little sister. He wasn't very happy for at the time he rather thought of Susan as nothing more than a nuisance. But Lucy proved him wrong. At first her screams pierced his sweet nights sleep but once she grew out of crying and sucking her thumb Peter grew rather attached to her. They could often be seen playing tea party in Lucy's room with her stuffed animals or with Peter carrying her on his shoulders to various parts of the house. And when Lucy had terrible nightmares it was Peter she ran to. Never her parents, or Ed, or Susan .. always Peter. And he loved being able to comfort his little sister with a hug, a kiss on the forehead, and maybe some hot chocolate. While he was sure that Lucy would grow up and be perfectly capable of taking excellent care of herself he always comforted himself in the thought that he would always be around to protect her himself and that she promised that no matter how old she got, he could always protect her. And that brought him to his promise to keep any and all males away from her for as long as he could. He would never forget her enthusiasm at finding Narnia, and the "I-told-you-so" look on her face when her three siblings managed to enter with her. Narnia was an amazing place for all of them but Lucy especially, she was so accepted and respected for no one questioned a 9-year-old in Narnia. Peter liked that Mr. Tumnus would help him keep an eye on Lucy and that he was loyal and had more than once refused to divulge a "Lucy Secret." And how he had loved to stare out the balcony and see Lucy, Susan and Ed playing games in the courtyard.

Peter's thoughts then drifted to his younger (not little for Ed was no long very "little" at all) brother. _King Edmund, the Just._ They listened to Aslan and never mentioned what happened with the Witch. Never again. In fact, if you asked any Narnian creature not one of them would remember hearing about any king of Narnia doing anything of the sort. In England Ed was a nice boy until he was sent off the boarding school and learned all sorts of nasty new ways to spite Lucy. But Narnia changed that about him. Even their mother remarked about how different Ed had been since they returned from evacuation. When she had first seen him she remarked how mature and grown up he looked. Later it became that she noticed his actions were different as well and she would comment, "Oh Ed, how you have changed since staying with the Professor!" But the children knew it was more about betraying his family to an evil witch than having to leave his home and possibly never come back. Edmund had stopped teasing Lucy, stopped hiding Su's make-up, and stopped ignoring Peter's orders. He gained much common sense and was a great help to the Narnian army. If you could find nothing else nice to say about the young monarch you could not deny that he had a practical mind and his strategies were most unconventional. But his plans worked more often than not and soon neighboring countries wished to begin trade with Narnia to avoid war. Peter was most proud of his younger brother. When the foolish Prince Rabadash tried to force Susan's hand in marriage he was the first to step up and fight for his sisters honor and the last to back down. One thing Peter would never forget was during a conversation in the throne room Ed once told him, "I'll never allow Su to marry him. He'll die by my sword first." And even after returning home and to no longer being a respected king Ed would always give Su's boyfriends a suspicious glace and a thorough warning of what would happen if they hurt her. If Ed grew up and became Britain's fairest judge, no one could say it surprised them.

Peter's eyelids felt heavy but a strong gust of wind caused him to get up and close his window. His glance landed on a picture displayed on his desk of him and Susan at her 16th birthday party. _Queen Susan, the Gentle. _No one in any world could deny that Susan was certainly one of the gentlest people you could ever meet. She seemed to be always helping someone or giving advice or laughing. In fact, as he thought about it, Peter could remember seeing Susan cry only once or twice in her whole life. She was so gentle that she told her family she was in fact planning to marry Rabadash if it meant avoiding war. Though Peter, as he was the High King, stopped the idea immediately he secretly thought it was rather noble of her. Since Susan was only a year or so younger than himself he didn't remember going to the hospital for her birth, or her crying all through the night, or sitting on his fathers lap and "holding her" (or rather, his father helping him hold her). He did remember that up until Ed was born they rarely got along. He was certain he would never forget how she would follow him and his friends around to spy on them. Thoughts of him and Su fighting made him chuckle, how much things have changed. When they'd been evacuated it seemed the two of them had made some type of silent agreement that they needed to put aside their differences for the younger ones benefit. And then she'd been made a queen and many different kings, princes, dukes, and lords all send ships to him asking for his blessing and Susan's hand in marriage. He'd been shocked when the first few came, but after the novelty had worn off all four had simply found them annoying. Peter remembered a lord, or perhaps it was a duke, who had come to him asking Susan's hand. When Peter told him it was not his, or his royal brothers place to sell or trade their sister's affections he'd tried to attack both of them and it was less than half a minute later the brute was carried off, hands tied behind his back, to his ship. But when they'd come back from Narnia she'd only become more beautiful. And much to Peter's immense displeasure, more and more boys came calling for her. If he or Ed answered the door they would only say, "Susan is indisposed" and slam the door in whatever poor boy happened to be there. Susan was also very practical. And, though he only thought it once in a great while and only then in the back of his mind, Peter always thought Susan would be the first to forget Narnia. And so did she, for she would talk about it often. It seemed to the other three she was the most afraid of losing Narnia.

The next day Peter told his friends, his girlfriend, and family came to visit him. The following summer Peter packed up his things and said good-bye to his siblings one by one. Lu, Ed, and Su. He wasn't sad, he would see them on breaks, summer holidays, and they would visit him. But he knew that deep inside they were in his heart: _Queen Lucy the Valiant, King Edmund the Just, _and_ Queen Susan the Gentle._ And truly they were just that.


End file.
